How can I trust them to run my business?

At some point, you are going to exit your business. It’s especially important to look at the expected skill and experience gaps that will be left when you are no longer active in the day to day business.

Someone will need to fill those gaps and execute with excellence to ensure the profitability and sustainability of your business. For most owners, that will be the key to funding their retirement. A comprehensive assessment of your leadership team will help you determine the skills and experience that already exists among your leaders and where there is potential for others to grow to fill those gaps. Some of your leaders may already be top performers, sitting in the right fit roles for them. Others may have potential to grow into C-suite roles.

Developing the high potentials and top performers is a powerful way to grow your business and fill those gaps. What are some simple, inexpensive ways to get started?

-Expand their responsibilities in ways that will grow them in the direction the company needs to go, then provide ongoing coaching and feedback on their progress.

-Send them to cross-train in other parts of the company. Seeing your business from multiple perspectives is very valuable. Encourage them to collaborate across functions to improve the business.

- Assign them a meaningful pilot project to work on that offers them broader learning and insight into the business, people, culture, industry.

- Encourage them to become active in leadership roles in the community, on targeted association or trade industry boards. This gives the company visibility and broadens their experience.

- Invite them to sit down with internal and external customers to better understand what is expected of them, and suggest they share their own expectations back.

These are simple examples of ways to grow your people and grow your organization. For more ideas, take a look at our Growth & Development Guide.

Building in experiences and learning opportunities like these will position your managers to expand and grow in meaningful ways and will deliver a direct return to your bottom line. And growth to your bottom line pays dividends now… and in the future. Let’s get started!